The Digest – Gameweek 26

The Digest draws our coverage of Gameweek 26 to a close as we look to the latest player, team and talking point to catch our attention.

Aaron Ramsey steals the headlines as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang make their Emirates bows in the thrashing of Everton.

Elsewhere, we assess how Swansea’s progress under Carlos Carvalhal can carry them clear of the bottom three and provide us Fantasy managers with some timely bargains.

Meanwhile, we look at how the relentless consistency – and explosive output – of Mohamed Salah changes our view of premium-priced forwards.

The Player

Handed their first starts for Arsenal since arriving in the January transfer window, both Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang immediately made their mark in the 5-1 home rout of Everton.

The Armenian international turned on the style, supplying three assists to soar to the top of the transfers-in charts ahead of Gameweek 27.

With Alexandre Lacazette shifted to the bench, Aubameyang’s extra pace and movement were all too evident up front, as the former Borussia Dortmund man opened his account with a finely-taken goal on 37 minutes.

Yet both were left trailing in the wake of Aaron Ramsey, who grabbed the headlines thanks to three goals and a career-high haul of 20 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points against the hapless Toffees.

Back on the teamsheet in the previous Gameweek after a period on the sidelines through injury, the Welshman was quick to replicate the early-season exploits that produced three goals and eight assists in the opening 15 matches.

Thanks to Saturday’s output, Ramsey has now been involved in – scored or assisted – 44% of the Gunners’ goals when on the pitch this season. Mesut Ozil, meanwhile, sits at 27%.

In terms of consistency, Ramsey has produced points in nine of his last 14 starts.

An average of 5.8 points per match (ppm) is ranked fourth among FPL midfielders, with only premium-priced trio Mohamed Salah, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne above him.

The statistics continue to impress when compared with his best ever FPL season in 2013/14. Ramsey is firing shots at a quicker rate (31.3 minutes compared to 35.3), while his efforts in the box (from 1.2 to 1.7) and big chances (from 0.3 to 0.6) also fare better.

Second only to Mkhitaryan for transfers in this week among midfielders, the only real deterrent is Arsenal’s next two fixtures – Arsene Wenger’s side face a north London derby trip to Tottenham before entertaining Man City.

Yet, as evidenced against Everton, Ramsey has the form to reward his early adopters, with a mere 4% of managers currently on board.

A closer look at the schedule shows that, from Gameweek 29 onwards, Arsenal face just one of the top six – away to Man United in Gameweek 36 – in the final 10 rounds of fixtures.

While Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang are bound to be among the key targets, Ramsey – at a cost of just 7.0 – more than merits his place in our plans.

The Team

Following a 5-0 Boxing Day hammering at Anfield in Gameweek 20, Swansea City’s prospects of remaining in the top-flight looked bleak at best.

Yet the arrival of Carlos Carvalhal has transformed the Welsh club’s fortunes and just six league matches later, they’ve already clambered out of the bottom three.

Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Leicester City extended their unbeaten run to four matches, with a single defeat – against Spurs – the only stain on the new manager’s record.

With back-to-back home wins over Liverpool and Arsenal also under their belt in January, Swansea are now braced for a very promising run that hands them every chance of maintaining their momentum.

Over the next eight Gameweeks, Carvalhal’s men have four favourable matches at the Liberty Stadium (BUR WHU SOT EVE), allied with trips to Brighton, Huddersfield and West Brom.

Investment in their regulars could well pay off.

At the back, Lukasz Fabianski remains the most reliable goalkeeper for saves – the Pole has made 102 stops, at least 17 more than any rival between the posts.

Centre-halves Alfie Mawson and Federico Fernandez have supplied a goal, an assist and a clean sheet apiece over the last three Gameweeks.

At 4.4 to Mawson’s 5.0, Fernandez is the more budget-friendly, yet he’s been anything but prolific. The Argentine’s weekend strike at the King Power was his first goal in the last two seasons, whereas Mawson has netted six league goals since last term.

Although there’s no standout candidates in midfield, Andre Ayew’s (6.8) arrival – his second stint at the club – may yet provide a solution.

Meanwhile, brother Jordan Ayew (5.3) has staked a significant claim as a third striker in our squads.

The second most bought forward this Gameweek ahead of a weekend visit from Burnley, the Ghana international now offers the perfect combination of form and fixtures.

He has scored three times in those six league matches under the new manager and also found the net in last month’s FA Cup win over Wolves.

The Talking Point

With almost every passing Gameweek, Mohamed Salah showcases his talents as a fire and forget captaincy option.

The Egyptian went into Sunday’s head-to-head with Harry Kane at Anfield having produced a goal or assist in 14 of his previous 16 league matches.

Yet for the sixth time in seven Gameweeks, it was Kane who ranked as the number one armband pick, handed the captaincy by 17.3% of FPL managers compared with Salah’s 13.1%.

While Kane fluffed one spot-kick before scoring another, and Sergio Agueroblanked at Burnley, Liverpool’s summer signing passed the test once again, bettering the Spurs man by 15 points to four at Anfield.

Salah’s brace and maximum bonus took him to 204 points in his debut Premier League campaign – with 12 Gameweeks still to go, that’s just 20 points behind Kane’s best ever season and 12 points off Aguero’s career-high haul.

He’s now braced for a schedule that pits Liverpool against just two of the top nine – away to Man United and Chelsea in Gameweeks 30 and 37 respectively – in the remaining 12 rounds of fixtures.

Arguably, we’ve reached the point where Salah’s prolific form and upcoming schedule is undermining Kane and Aguero as captaincy options.

And in turn, it again makes us ponder if the premium priced forward pairing are now struggling to justify their selection.

Granted, Fantasy managers owning just one of that pair will likely be happy to hold, but those with both Kane and Aguero – some 537,000+ – may now be reconsidering their options.

With Salah so ever-reliable as a captain, downgrading one of Kane or Aguero to a mid-price or budget forward, thus freeing up cash to strengthen elsewhere, could become the popular strategy.